Our guide. Ali, took us to the Hassan II Mosque early enough to miss the crowds. King Hassan reigned from 1961-99 and started construction of the mosque in 1987. It is the third largest mosque in the world after the ones in Mecca and Medina. The minaret is 60 stories tall and the only one with an elevator. The building will hold 25,000 worshippers while another 80,000 can worship outdoors on the plaza. One third of the building is over the water of the Atlantic, it has heated floors, the roof slides open, it holds 57 chandeliers and 360 speakers. Side buildings are for classrooms, prayer rooms, a museum and library. The absolution rooms for men and women are below ground. It took 6 years to build working 24/7/365.
After we left the mosque we drove around Casablanca’s tourist areas and French and Spanish quarters. It is the 2nd largest city in Africa with 6 million people.
Rabat is the international city of Morocco. Our first stop was the Kasbah or original Fort of Rabat. It is a UNESCO World heritage site and is under repairs. Built in1146 it still houses 30 families who make their living creating and selling arts and crafts.
Due to Covid we could not enter any of the royal palaces. We saw the gate of the royal palace, the mausoleum and unfinished mosque of Hassan II .
No comments:
Post a Comment